The founder of Christian anti-crime initiative Street Pastors is urging church leaders and young people to turn out for Bite The Bullet, a special one day conference aimed at encouraging young people to resist the lure of crime, and helping churches reach out to young people caught up in gun and knife culture.

The Rev Isaac commented, "Not a week goes by without there being some story in the media about a young person being stabbed or shot. Our urban communities are becoming very violent places and it is important that churches take seriously what is happening, and learn how they can make a difference in the lives of young people and communities affected by this culture of violence."

His appeal comes just days after the murder of Ben Kinsella, the 16-year-old brother of "Eastenders" actress Brooke Kinsella. Ben became the 17th young person to be murdered in London this year after he was chased through the streets of north London and stabbed to death by up to four teenagers following a fight at a nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

Speakers at Bite the Bullet include Rev Isaac, Deputy London Mayor Ray Lewis, members of the Metropolitan Police, former criminals, former "Casualty" actor and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah, and youth worker and actress Amie Buhari.

The Rev Isaac has years of experience working with disaffected youth. He founded Street Pastors five years ago in response to the gun crime plaguing Britain's inner cities.

He explained, "The church can make a difference if it wants to. Since Street Pastors was set up we have broken up fights, provided young people with positive directions to change their lives and given people hope. I, along with some of the other speakers, want to share our experiences so that we encourage young people to be focused and purposeful and encourage churches to share hope and work with disaffected youth, with a view to discouraging them from crime."


Bite the Bullet is a joint venture between the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Ascension Trust and will take place on Saturday, July 12 at Brixton Baptist Church, Solon Road, Brixton, London SW2 5UY from 10.30am - 9pm. The day conference will be followed by an evening concert featuring performing artists Transformers, Jake Isaac, All Bout Christ and Hidden Man.